2010 Chevy Camaro SS - Stiff Competition

We Fix Our Chassis Flex With A Few Bolt-On Parts From BMR.

•Making an already-capable car handle better is as much about tackling the little things as it is focusing on the more expensive, bigger items. This is especially true in regards to suspension upgrades and chassis stiffening. Keep in mind that when GM churns out a performance car like the 2010 Chevy Camaro SS, their idea of "performance" is quite a bit different than how us gearheads think of it. To a GM engineer, it's winding down a mountain road on factory rubber. They didn't plan on superchargers, sticky tires, or driving ten-tenths on a road course or autocross track. The net result is that parts and structures fine for a stock Camaro can falter when the performance envelope is pushed beyond a certain point.

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The Zeta platform, on which the '10 Camaro is based, offers a pretty solid chassis, but it can be made stiffer by way of subframe connectors. A longtime staple of Camaro enthusiasts, subframe connectors work by tying together sections of the car's chassis into one cohesive unit, thereby helping reduce flex. Flex is bad, since it results in small but performance-robbing and unpredictable suspension geometry changes.

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Swapping out key suspension parts also makes improvements. Remember, GM builds parts based on a car staying stock, and for this the stamped-steel suspension and chassis parts are more than sufficient. Nonetheless, when subjected to the higher side loading of aggressive driving, these parts can flex, causing unwanted suspension geometry changes. In addition, the soft rubber bushings used by the factory to ensure a cushy, noise-free ride deform and rob handling performance. The goal is to stiffen these parts to keep the handling predictable, but not to the point where the car rides like a floor jack.

To stiffen up our SS a bit, we ordered some beefier parts from BMR and went to Hot Rod Specialties in Upland, California, for some "quality time" with our wrenches.

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